Fun Exploration

With Tom in tow, I boldly stepped into the forest.

Then, at last, I activated the Jack-of-All-Trades skill Versatile Job Change.

This forest was already like my own backyard, since I used it regularly to gather food and materials.

But viewing it from the bird’s-eye perspective of making a map revealed all kinds of new discoveries.

“Oh, there’s an animal trail in the thicket. I pass through this area all the time, yet I never noticed. I wonder what’s ahead…?”

The narrow trail—barely wide enough for one person—branched off in multiple directions.

I picked one at random, and found a rabbit burrow, where baby rabbits were playfully tumbling around.

Not wanting to scare them, I quietly took a different path.

The animal trails were surprisingly complex, like a maze, but they led to unexpected finds.

Partway through, I reached a dark spot where fallen trees lay piled together, and there I noticed a flower half-buried in the ground.

“Could this be… Nightclaw Grass!?”

“Nightclaw Grass normally doesn’t emerge from the soil until night. Finding it during the day means I got lucky.”

It was one of the materials Akemi had asked me to gather, so I harvested it immediately.

Continuing along the trail, I came to an area where both sides of the brush were dyed a blazing red.

“Careful—Burnweed growing in a place like this is dangerous…”

“If I’d passed through here without plant knowledge, this would’ve been bad. But hey, that’s another requested item secured.”

I pulled my hand into my coat sleeve so I wouldn’t touch it directly, then yanked out the Burnweed.

After carefully stowing it in my pocket, I went further and emerged into a familiar area.

“Oh, this leads to the pond. Taking the shortest route, this is much faster than going through the mushroom field. Found a shortcut.”

I reviewed the route I’d taken so far and roughly sketched it onto my clipboard.

Thanks to Absolute Memory, I remembered every path clearly.

Now all I had to do was commit it to paper using Planar Map Creation…

“All right, the rough map to the pond is done. It even includes rare material locations and a shortcut route. Once I add the smaller animal trails, it’ll be complete …This feels kind of like a treasure hunt. It’s fun.”

“Then let us have some fun too.”

Several male students approached from the direction of the mushroom field and called out to me.

They were all wearing leather armor—probably combat-class warriors.

I didn’t recognize any of them, but their attitudes were strangely familiar and pushy.

“We came to look for mushrooms, but we don’t know which ones are edible.”

“So how about you try eating the mushrooms we picked?”

“What do you guys want?”

“Oh? What’s with that rebellious attitude? We’re from an upper class, you know? Compared to us, someone from the bottom-ranked Special Training Class should treat us like gods.”

“Or what—are you holding some dirt on us, like with Lady Monaka and Lady Kotone? If so, show it to us, huh?”

This wasn’t the first time I’d been harassed like this, but it felt even worse than usual.

They’d probably been spreading my wanted posters around the residential area.

“I don’t like this guy’s attitude! Just a dropout, acting like he can do everything on his own!”

“Without drugs, you couldn’t do a damn thing!”

“Let’s beat him down and teach him his place!”

“Yeah, and then force him to eat the mushrooms!”

“That’s right! Then we’ll know which ones are edible, and Lady Monaka and Lady Kotone will be pleased—two birds with one stone!”

I hesitated.

If I changed to a combat job, I wouldn’t lose to them.

But the moment I fought, Absolute Memory would deactivate.

I’d forget the structure of the animal trails I’d just explored.

“Hmmm… but I can’t just let this go either…”

“Hey, what’re you muttering about!?”

“It’s too late to apologize now!”

“Come on—scream for us!”

The male students charged, fists raised.

Just as they were about to strike me, they were blown backward as if hit by an explosion.

“E—EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!?!?”

Their gazes locked onto my thigh area.

Looking down, I saw Tom—the black panther—slip out from my shadow, growling low.

Right. I had a reliable bodyguard with me.

The students collapsed backward, scrambling on the ground in terror.

“B-b-black panther!?”

“So the rumor that he keeps a Black Panther was true!?”

“I thought it was just a big black cat or something…!”

“No way… it’s the real thing…!”

“D-don’t panic! This is just a hallucination he’s showing us! If that’s the case, there’s nothing to be afraid of!”

But the instant Tom opened his mouth wide, they screamed as if their throats were being torn out.

“GYAAAAAA! RUN! RUNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN!”

They fled on all fours, desperate for their lives.

I called out after them.

“Hey, there’s a pond behind you, so be careful—”

Immediately after, huge splashes erupted.

“GLURP!? Help! Help meeeee!”

“W-why!? I’m sinking! I’m sinkingggg!”

“I’m gonna drown! I’m gonna drownnnnn!”

The students flailed helplessly, bobbing up and down in the water.

“Good grief. Don’t they know how to swim while wearing equipment?”

I could’ve left them there, but the animals that came to drink from the pond were giving me annoyed looks.

“I might end up drinking this water myself someday… can’t have it getting dirtier.”

I grabbed a thick tree branch nearby and tossed it out as an improvised rescue rope.